Katrina Powell has always pushed herself, two Olympic gold medals is testament to that. And now the former Hockeyroo is leading by example as she works her way to the top ranks of hockey coaching, with the ultimate aim of coaching a senior international team.
“I am forever asking more of my athletes and pushing them to be better, and so I must also ask the same of myself,” said Katrina. “The better coach, communicator and person I can be, the better I can assist them in obtaining their hockey and life goals.”
Katrina won her first gold medal in 1996, and played in two subsequent Olympic Games, winning her second gold in front of a home crowd at the 2000 Sydney Games. She represented Australia 252 times, scoring a tremendous 141 goals. Since retirement tom playing, she has been steadily working up the coaching ladder and is now one of the few women to hold the FIH High Performance Coach badge.
Currently, Katrina is in charge of the New South Wales Institute of Sport women’s programme, a role that enables her to work with some very talented athletes, both junior and senior international prospects. Prior to that she was working with the Australian National Juniors.
A quick look towards the coaching benches at the 2014 Hockey World Cup indicates what a rarity Katrina has become. The only women on the coaching staff for the top 12 women’s teams are Janneke Schopman and Karen Brown of Team USA and Great Britain respectively. They are both assistant coaches.
Katrina says the lack of top female coaches can largely be attributed to family demands. “Coaching is very much a full time job. When you are an athlete, it is a 24/7 requirement, and in order to support and develop our best, this requires a high level of commitment and investment from those who coach them. I think traditionally when women have families of their own, this can understandably take priority. Therefore the itinerant nature and the need to travel regularly can make this very difficult for women to commit.”
“The game of hockey also evolves very quickly, so I think that when women have stepped away from the game to have a family, this makes it harder to come back and transition immediately in the area of technical application and game strategy.”
Katrina says the FIH High Performance course was demanding, and that the time it took to complete the award might be inhibiting for some women, but, she added: “I really enjoyed the hours spent both preparing for, and actually on the course. The Master Coaches running the course all did a fantastic job and it was brilliant to have them there for discussions, as a sounding board and also providing feedback. I found every minute valuable and a very efficient and rewarding spend of my time and energy.”
Steve Jaspan is chair of the FIH High Performance and Coaching Panel. He says that despite FIH being recognised as one of the leading International Federations when it comes to promoting female coaches, the organisation still feels it can do more.
He says: “The FIH, via the High Performance and Coaching Panel (HP&C), has started a campaign and a programme to nurture and develop female coaches, especially at the higher levels of the game and intensify existing FIH initiatives to support women in hockey generally.”
Currently there are 10 women who have achieved the same level as Katrina, and only one Master Coach is a woman but Steve does not think this will be the case for long. He cites both Katrina and Karen Brown as potential Master Coaches.
The chair of the HP&C Panel agrees with Katrina that family commitments might be an inhibiting factor, but he also points to the need for holistic support from within the national hockey associations. He praised some nations for their approach: “The Netherlands, Scotland, England, Australia spring to mind as some of the nations that have prioritised this important aspect of the game (elite female coaches) but there are many other National Associations who have now placed this very high on their agendas and in their strategic plans.”
Katrina acknowledges the support of her employers at NSWIS and Hockey Australia in achieving the High Performance Coaching award, and explains how the experience will help her as a coach: “The key advantage for me being involved on the High Performance coaching course was the exposure to the current tactical, physical and technical practices of international hockey and the ability to dissect this with colleagues from all over the world. This allowed me to get out of the Australian hockey system and my own closed training environment to see what is being done elsewhere and what may be of use to my athletes.”
So what advice would the newly-qualified High Performance coach offer to aspiring coaches? “First of all, get involved. The more you put your hand up, ask for help, volunteer and get exposed at different levels and to different coaches, the more you can learn. Be prepared to invest in your athletes and be confident that you always have something to offer. Plus, be aware of your own personal strengths and weaknesses and how these play out in your coaching practice. My commitment to building my own capability in all experience, knowledge, competency and personal style attribute areas, is one of the best investments I’ve made.”
